Staff Directory

Directors

Letty Acosta

Bill Foster

Prepress Manager

Phone: 413-585-5225

E-mail: bfoster@gazettenet.com

Mark Galat

Circulation manager

Phone: 413-585-5336

E-mail: mgalat@gazettenet.com

Jeffrey Good

Executive editor

Phone: 413-585-5355

Jeffrey Good is executive editor of Newspapers of New England's Pioneer Valley newspaper group: the Daily Hampshire Gazette, Greenfield Recorder, Amherst Bulletin and Valley Advocate. Before moving to the Valley in 2014, he was editor of the Valley News, an NNE paper based in Lebanon, NH. He is the proud father of two young adult children, a Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial writer and author (with contributor Susan Goreck) of Poison Mind, the true story of a creepy Florida murder case.

E-mail: jgood@gazettenet.com

Michael Rifanburg

Publisher

Phone: 413-585-5335

Michael Rifanburg, Publisher of the Daily Hampshire Gazette, The Recorder, Amherst Bulletin and the Valley Advocate has been in the newspaper industry for more than 30 years. He started his career at Park newspapers in Norwich, NY in advertising sales and has since worked for Gannett, Ottaway/Dow Jones, Lee Enterprises and New Media in a variety of sales, mid-level manager and publisher roles. Mike and his wife Nance live in Deerfield, MA. They have a son in Minneapolis, MN,a daughter in Los Angeles, CA and they enjoy theater, music and the outdoors.

Newsroom

Caitlin Ashworth

Staff writer

Phone: 413-585-5241

Caitlin Ashworth is a reporter covering Easthampton, Southampton and business. She graduated from the University of South Florida St. Petersburg in May 2016. She has interned at the Richmond Times-Dispatch and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Chad Cain

Night managing editor

Phone: 413-585-5238

Chad Cain is the night managing editor for the Gazette. He previously covered Northampton city government, consumer and general assignment stories, business, and higher education since joining the Gazette in 2007. Cain grew up in Spokane, Wash., and earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Montana in Missoula. Earlier in his career, he was editor for six years of The Westborough News, an affiliate of the Metrowest Daily News in Framingham, and also worked at a business newspaper in Spokane, a weekly newspaper in Grand Coulee, Wash., and in the communications department at the University of Idaho.

E-mail: ccain@gazettenet.com

Dusty Christensen

Staff writer

Phone: 413-585-5252

Dusty is a staff writer covering higher education, Amherst public schools and neighborhoods. His work has appeared on NPR, WNYC radio, The Nation, Haaretz, PBS and other outlets. A graduate of New York University and the University of Georgia, Dusty also served as a Peace Corps volunteer in rural Ukraine. He's still bitter about the Patriots' come-from-behind Super Bowl win over his Atlanta Falcons.

Sarah Crosby

Photographer/videographer

Phone: 413-585-5258

Sarah Crosby is a multimedia journalist with particular interests in refugee and immigration issues. After a photo internship for the Gazette in 2012, she rejoined the staff in 2016 to tell stories through photos, videos and words. Crosby previously worked at the Cape Cod Times and Erie Times-News in Pennsylvania following graduation from the Rochester Institute of Technology photojournalism program.

Dan Crowley

Emily Cutts

Staff writer

Phone: 413-585-5228

Emily Cutts is a reporter covering South Hadley, Granby and Belchertown. Emily joined the Gazette in October 2016. She has previously worked covering local government in Vermont and breaking news in St. Paul, Minn. A native of Minnesota, Emily graduated from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities with a degree in journalism and French.

Dan DeNicola

Dan DeNicola coordinates calendar listings for Hampshire Life and the Amherst Bulletin. He also writes occasionally for the arts and entertainment section.

E-mail: ddenicola@gazettenet.com

Bera Dunau

Reporter

Phone: 413-585-5234

Bera Dunau is a graduate of Hampshire College who has been reclaimed by the mists of the Pioneer Valley after a seven-year absence. He covers the city of Northampton and business, and would love to add the Hilltowns, too. No one told Bera, a creative writing major, that his idea to make money as a writer by becoming a journalist might not be well thought out. Nevertheless, Bera has been making a living at it full time since 2011. The communities he has covered include Lenox, Mass., Cooperstown, N.Y. and most recently, Foxboro. Bera is a community journalist, with ink in his veins, who is passionate about serving the public interest. Reach out to him anytime, although results may vary after midnight.

E-mail: bdunau@gazettenet.com

Kevin Gutting

Photographer

Phone: 413-585-5258

Kevin Gutting joined the photo staff of the Daily Hampshire Gazette in 1995 after working for several daily newspapers in Ohio. The son of an Army officer, Gutting traveled the world as an "Army brat" before earning a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin. He lives in Florence and enjoys spending his newly rediscovered weekends with family and friends.

Brooke Hauser

Arts & Culture editor

Phone: 413-585-5233

Brooke Hauser is the arts & culture editor at the Daily Hampshire Gazette. She also edits the weekend magazine, Hampshire Life, and the arts section of the Amherst Bulletin. Originally from Miami, Florida, she has written for the Miami Herald and the New York Times as well as magazines such as Marie Claire, Allure and Glamour. She is also the author of two books, "Enter Helen," a biography of iconic Cosmopolitan editor Helen Gurley Brown, and "The New Kids," a narrative nonfiction book chronicling the lives of newly arrived immigrant and refugee students at a Brooklyn high school. Based in the Northampton area, she is married to the theater manager at the Academy of Music, and they have two kids.

E-mail: bhauser@gazettenet.com

Carol Lollis

Photo editor

Phone: 413-585-5258

Carol Lollis is the photography editor. She became a staff photographer at the Daily Hampshire Gazette in 1992 after receiving her master's degree from Ohio University. She was named photo editor in 2008 and enjoys the opportunities to shoot as well as manage the photo department. Lollis lives in Westhampton with her husband and three sons.

E-mail: clollis@gazettenet.com

Scott Merzbach

Staff writer

Phone: 413-585-5253

Scott Merzbach covers Amherst town government, police and fire, and other municipal issues. Merzbach, who grew up in Leverett and is a graduate of Saint Michael's College in Vermont, has worked for the Gazette since 1996.

Tammalene Mitman

Web editor

Phone: 413-585-5242

Tammy's newspaper career began at the Concord (N.H.) Monitor. Since then, she's worked in Maine, Massachusetts and Connecticut in a variety of media, research and support positions. She happily devotes most of her spare time to her two geriatric equines.

E-mail: tmitman@gazettenet.com

Mike Moran

Sports editor

Phone: 413-585-5247

Mike Moran has been the sports editor since July 2010. He is a 2002 graduate of the School of Journalism at Northeastern University in Boston. A native of Chicopee, Moran played three sports - cross country, basketball and track & field - at Chicopee High School.

Stanley Moulton

Opinion editor/Internship coordinator

Phone: 413-585-5256

Stanley Moulton has worked as a reporter and editor at the Daily Hampshire Gazette for about 40 years and is currently the opinion, political editor and internship coordinator. Moulton, a graduate of Hampshire College in Amherst, previously worked for the Berkshire Eagle.

Steve Musal

Special sections editor

Phone: 413-585-5248

If there's an editing job to do, Steve Musal probably does it. He edits weekend news and special sections for the Gazette, manages the Amherst Bulletin, and fills in as an editor-of-all-trades wherever needed. Fueled by a combination of caffeine, curiosity and and the endless pursuit of truth, Steve holds an M.S. in journalism from Northwestern University's Medill School, and is an undergraduate alumnus (twice over) of Metropolitan State University of Denver.

James Pentland

James Pentland is wire editor and Page 1 editor for the Gazette, a copy editor and editor for the Gazette's monthly Home magazine. He is a former reporter who has worked at newspapers for 20 years.

E-mail: jpentland@gazettenet.com

Steve Pfarrer

Staff writer

Phone: 413-585-5262

Steve Pfarrer is an arts reporter for the Gazette, covering art exhibitions, books, music, theater and other events. He previously was a staff writer for Hampshire Life magazine and also covered higher education and regional and local news stories.

E-mail: spfarrer@gazettenet.com

Lucy Pickett

Editorial department designer

Phone: 413-585-5348

Lucy Pickett is a designer for the editorial department at the Daily Hampshire Gazette. She is responsible for designing feature pages, special story treatments, Hampshire Life, supplements and other special sections. Pickett is also co-writer of the Saturday food feature Lou & Lucy's Leftovers.

E-mail: lpickett@gazettenet.com

Jerrey Roberts

Photographer

Phone: 413-585-5258

Jerrey Roberts has been a staff photographer at the Gazette since 1993. Roberts earned a bachelor's degree in fine arts from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 1981, the same year he began working professionally. Besides freelancing, Roberts previously has worked for the Longview (Texas) News Journal and the Sedalia (Mo.) Democrat.

Sarah Robertson

Staff writer

Phone: 413-585-5263

Sarah Robertson is a staff writer covering South Hadley, Granby and Belchertown, and is especially interested in reporting on energy policy environmental issues. A graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst journalism program, Sarah spent summers interning for Sierra Magazine and the American University Investigative Reporting Workshop before joining the Gazette in 2017.

E-mail: srobertson@gazettenet.com

Debra Scherban

Features editor

Phone: 413-585-5229

Debra Scherban is the features editor for the Gazette. She started her Gazette career as a reporter in Amherst and then Northampton. Scherban also has served as editor of the Gazette's weekly features magazine, Hampshire Life, which won numerous state and regional awards under her stewardship, and as the Gazette's managing editor for features.

Lisa Spear

Features writer

Phone: 413-585-5272

Lisa Spear is the health and food feature writer at the Daily Hampshire Gazette. She also writes for the family and home section. Lisa started her career in journalism as an intern at the Gazette. She is a graduate of Hampshire College and Columbia School of Journalism. Her work has previously appeared in Time Magazine, NorthJersey.com and the Associated Press. She likes to spend her spare time hiking and biking around the valley. She wants to hear your story ideas. Send her tips.

Matt Vautour

UMass sports reporter, sports columnist

Phone: 413-585-5244

Matt Vautour covers UMass sports and is a sports columnist. He also maintains the UMass sports blog and contributes to the Everything Else blog on GazetteNET. He joined the Gazette in 1997 and previously covered high school sports. Vautour has been honored regionally four times for column writing, and nationally for feature writing in 2010.

Commercial Printing

Jordan Prickett

Commercial Printing Manager

Phone: 413-585-5292

Jordan Prickett manages all aspects of our Commercial Printing Department. In addition to our own daily and weekly publications, we print newspapers, magazines, brochures and more for hundreds of clients throughout New England. Jordan works with our production staff and our clients to ensure that all details of the job are accurately produced. He has been with the company since 2005 and has formerly worked in the Circulation Department. If you’d like to inquire about printing opportunities for your publication please call or email him anytime.